A Different Kind of Gold
by shinigamigirl196
Summary: Raina Greenwood was borne of two races, and thus she didn't truly have a home, though this was not as off-putting as it seemed, allowing the dwelf to travel as far as she desired, only being weary of Thorin Oakenshield who could not have made it plainer how little he cared for her, but Raina would prove herself to be a warrior of great skill, even if it took her decades.
1. Mongrel of Two Races

**Disclaimer: The Hobbit belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien **

**A Different Kind of Gold: Chapter One: Mongrel of Two Races**

**AN: This is a resubmission of my original KilixOC story that I pulled off this site some time ago, mostly because I was inspired by the H:BotFA. It's being lengthened from three thousand words to four thousand words just like Creator of Time was, because four thousand words is practically my minimum now. Also, just like in Creator of Time, I was planning to go into a bit more depth for Raina, because I feel like a skipped over a bit of her childhood that I should've explained more about.**

**The way I understand it, Elves come of age around fifty years, while Dwarves come of age around forty, or, at least, that's the assumption I'm going to be operating under, if its wrong, let me know, and I'll fix it.**

**Also: I will be showcasing just how difficult of a relationship Raina and her mother have, something I glossed over in the original one. Caladwen makes the mistake of trying to make her be more Elf than Dwarf, and it doesn't end too well…**

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><p>Raina Ibûndottir was not disillusioned of what she was, even at a young age. She was not familiar with how her father, Ibûn son of Frár, came to find himself involved with her mother, Caladwen of Imladris, only that it pained her mother to speak of the relationship she had once had with her father, so she thought it best not to bring the matter to her attention.<p>

Raina was a strange child, a mongrel born of two races that couldn't have been more different from each other: Dwarrow and Elven folk. Her hair was a dark molten gold, like the seams that ran through the mountains that the Dwarves were known to inhabit, and her eyes were pale and light like diamonds, and like her mother, her ears converged into a sharp point, rather unlike the rounded edges that Dwarves had. They were certainly strange features for their race, but her mother and father had loved her all the same, shielding her as best as they could from the eyes of others who viewed her looks to be…unnatural (and there was no denying that, but Raina didn't need to be aware of it).

Ibûn had claimed her beauty could not compare to all the riches of the earth and Raina had blushed and giggled, following her parents' examples and ignoring the looks thrown her way.

Raina remembered her father very well, even though he died when she was quite young. She remembered how his belly shook as he laughed, his laughter deep and echoing, she remembered how his red beard tickled her when he kissed her, and she remembered how his eyes would crinkle in the corners when he smiled. She remembered tracing the scars that rested tight on the skin over his knuckles. She remembered how he grunted with annoyance as he tried to spin Raina's thick strands into a braid that wasn't going to fall out within the next day.

One day he had been there, and the next he had gone.

He died rushing to the aid of King Thror in an effort to take back Moria, but it was all for naught, and it was in the same battle that her closest friends, Fili and Kili, lost their father as well. However, it was different for the two brothers, as they were the great-grandsons of Thror himself, and through their veins ran Durin's blood.

They were princes and Raina was just a bastard.

But status meant nothing without a throne and those Dwarves originally from Erebor, even the royal line, held no more power than common miners did. And this meant that Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, had no love for Raina, especially when she came to play with his nephews, for she was half of the race that had betrayed him and his family when the great dragon, Smaug, attacked Erebor.

"You cannot blame a child, Thorin," his sister, Dis, reproached him as he scowled into the distance, where a few Dwarrow children played a game of keep-away, and though very few approved of Raina given her heritage, children cared little of these problems. Playmates were playmates, and nothing would be able to persuade them of any different. "Raina Ibûndottir did not turn her back on Erebor."

"She is of the same race," Thorin remarked coolly as the golden-haired girl tripped only to get back up once more, stains appearing on her knees. "All Elves are the same."

Dis gave a soft almost imperceptible sigh at the stubbornness of their father that her brother had inherited. She, unlike her brother, knew of the differences between the different forests that held Elves, and Caladwen was of Rivendell, not Mirkwood, the forest from within Thranduil ruled, but her brother it would seem, chose not to differentiate. Perhaps it was simpler for him that way. It was easier to blame the whole rather than a single part.

But Dis could not bring herself to hate a child as she watched Raina race through the grass, laughing as she caught Kili's sleeve.

"Run!" she cried, pushing Fili away as her dark-haired son ran after his brother and friend, his laughter heard even from where Dis stood, and the dark-haired Dwarrow woman allowed herself a small smile. Children were a wonder, so much filled with innocence and joy.

Raina ducked under one of her older brothers, little Ori, her movements graceful whereas his were bumbling and uneven, no doubt owing to the Elven blood that coursed through her veins.

Children would be children until they could be children no longer, and Dis wasn't about to rush that along, even if it wasn't perhaps the wisest course of action. And she doubted young Raina would be with them much longer, if the shifty eyes of Caladwen were any sort of indicator.

There was nothing to keep the long-lived elf in Ered Luin as Ibûn's presence no longer tied her there since her lover's death. Caladwen was like a fish trying to live on land, and it simply wasn't possible, and her love for her daughter was great, so Dis didn't doubt that she would disappear with the young half-Dwarrow lass. She did however wonder if the child would wish to go when she had lived her whole life on a mountain only to be suddenly forced from it and into a forest. Somehow, she knew the answer would be that Raina would rather remain.

Raina fit in very well with the three Ri Brothers, her brothers, given that she was half of another race. But while each of Ibûn's sons did share a father, they had each come from different mothers, so it might not have felt all that different to them.

Ori and Raina were ever so fond of their books, becoming quickly enamored with the languages of Westron and Khuzdul (although Dis had heard the flowery words of Sindarin a few times), but Raina was also a very active child, fascinated by weapons and warriors. Dis felt pride swell inside her at the knowledge of a Dwarrow female that wouldn't contend to sitting on the sidelines, this was a girl that would be fighting on the frontlines with the men, if the opportunity ever arose.

Nori, who was already becoming well known as a thief had a soft spot for his youngest sibling and only sister, and since Dwarrow females were so few in number, he had taken to showing her a few defensive moves, how to pick locks and pick pockets, much to the chagrin of her eldest sibling, Dori, who thought she was better off far away from Nori's type. But Raina was a spirited child who seemed to be constantly up to something, whether it was good or bad, and Dis knew without a doubt that her two young sons wouldn't be far behind the pale-eyed girl who sang the old songs in Khuzdul no matter how many times her mother winced at the language.

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><p>Caladwen did not fumble with the ties of her and Raina's bags as Dwarves often did, elves movements were far more precise, but she was being deliberately slow, allowing her daughter as much freedom as she dared before she would go to her to tell her of the bad news.<p>

She was also worried about the protection of her only child, as she had been since the day the golden-haired lass had been born; there was a shortage of people who did not wish ill of those considered mongrels.

So every so often she glanced up nervously as her young daughter played with Dis' equally young princes. Thorin had made it obvious his disgust towards her child, her innocent half-dwarf, half-elf child. Little Raina didn't understand the lost king's hatred towards her, but it had caused her to have an aversion to him, usually sticking close to her elder brothers' sides or Kili and Fili's. Her appearance was rather odd for a Dwarf, or even an Elf, but Ibûn had said she was a living representation of the riches that flowed beneath the earth, with great pride, but Ibûn was dead, and Caladwen was alone.

As alone as she had been before she had met Ibûn, only now there was a harsh sting in her heart from the loss of the Dwarf who had been the only man to ever claim her heart.

Caladwen expelled a soft sigh, thanking Eru that she had her daughter didn't have many personal items to begin with. It would make it easier to so at a faster pace on her beloved steed, and quicker to leave the mountain behind, something she dearly wished to accomplish.

"You're going to take away from us…aren't you?" Dori's voice drew her out of her deep thoughts and she glanced to the side and down (something an elf always seemed to have to do, given the difference in height between the two races). Of the three sons of her lover, Dori was the one who least looked like Ibûn, and Nori, the most, however, this did not make looking at Dori any easier.

She could read many emotions that flashed across the already-grey-haired Dwarf's (a trait from his mother, no doubt) face, even at the speed they disappeared; anger, sadness, resignation, regret, reluctance. And she knew why they were all present on his face. Anger that she would take Raina away, sadness that their sister would be taken away from them, resignation that he had no power to keep the golden-haired elfling in Ered Luin, regret that he couldn't convince Caladwen to remain, and reluctance to let Raina go.

The Ri brothers were among the few people dwarves that didn't treat Raina as if she was a curse upon the land. They loved their sister truly and deeply, and she had no doubt that they would try to stop her, or at least Nori and Ori would make an attempt, it seemed that Dori had already come to terms with her soon-to-be abrupt departure.

Finally, a sigh escaped her lips and she nodded her light-haired head in agreement to the boy's words. "Ered Luin is no place for a child of my bloodline. She will find no friends among your people, Dori," Caladwen said exhaustively, watching as Raina clapped her hands together with Kili and Fili mimed something with his hands, falling dramatically to the ground amid peals of laughter. It sounded like a lie once she said it out loud, as Ibûn's blood was strong in Raina, but she would never admit it.

"Will she among the elves?" Dori demanded, his eyes sparking with a sudden anger that was brought on by her dismissal of half of his half-sister's heritage, the Dwarfish half. "She's our sister!"

"And she is my _daughter!"_ Caladwen snapped, her words as sharp as any blade. "She needs a healthy environment in which to thrive, and that cannot occur within the borders of Ered Luin. I cannot, I will not allow to continue living here, knowing that Thorin Durinson openly displays such animosity towards her.

Dori took a step back at her vehemence, despite knowing that she was indeed correct. "But—"

However, Caladwen was no longer listening as she pulled the last of her bags out of the door to tie them down to the horse before striding out the door towards her daughter, gripping the reigns tightly.

"Raina, darling?" she called out towards the golden-haired girl who was waving her hands as she spoke, pausing abruptly at the sound of her mother's voice. Her child smiled up at her with a bright grin that could outshine the sun, her attention shifting from the two Dwarrow princes before her who were now staring inquisitively up at the elf.

"Mama!" the little girl chirped happily. "Fili says he's going to learn to use swords soon! When are you going to teach me?"

Dwarrow folk were taught to survive at a young age, and it was something that Caladwen had tried to evade for so long, as she had clearly seen how much longing was present on Raina's face at the sight of weapons of any kind. It had always been that way, much to Caladwen's chagrin, even when Ibûn was alive, he had boasted that his daughter had a great eye, her attention always fastening on weapons of the highest caliber.

She grimaced slightly, though the expression vanished, too quick to be seen. Kili and Raina, being the younger of the three, missed the pain in her eyes, but Fili did not, and his bright blue orbs filled with confusion as he paused to look up upon the elf-woman that everyone was familiar with by now both as the mother of a mongrel (though his mother had forbade him against using that word as a description towards his friend, so it must have been a bit crude) and as the former lover of a Dwarf.

"I suspect you will soon, whether or not I agree," Caladwen admitted with a bit of reluctance, the second bit of her statement said so lowly that the children could not make it out. "However, Fili, Kili, I'm afraid I must steal my daughter away from you, as we will be leaving momentarily."

Raina was a smart girl, even if she did not entirely understand all that was occurring, that much was evident as her brow wrinkled in confusion.

"Leaving?" Raina asked curiously, standing up and brushing her hands against her sturdy pants –a nervous gesture that Caladwen would have recognized even if there was a substantial distance between them–, already stained from mud and grass from playing with her brothers and the two young princes. "Why? Where?"

Her mind was racing faster than the length of a plain a horse could cover at a dead sprint, but it was not out of fear, but excitement. Raina loved discovering new things, whether they were words, weapons, or even places she had never been to before.

"To Imladris," Caladwen agreed, smiling at the prospect of showing her home to her only child. She knew that Raina would love Imladris, once she got past how angry she would be at being forced from Ered Luin.

"Imladris," the word flowed carefully off Raina's tongue as she screwed up her face in concentration, attempting to recall just where she had heard the word from as she took her mother's hand, waving a boisterous goodbye to the two brown and blonde-haired lads.

Caladwen could faintly hear the voices of the Ri brothers in her periphery, no doubt having come across Dori who was understandably distraught at having to lose his youngest sibling to her mother. She could hear the concerned hue that had leaked into young Ori's voice as he comforted his eldest brother, not quite knowing what else to do.

Nori's voice was the one that drew the attention towards the Elf and her offspring. "Dori, what's she doing?"

"Is it Raina?" Ori asked in confusion, the young Dwarf not knowing what had upset Dori so greatly as he followed Nori's eyes. "What's going on?"

"We're going to be living there from now on," Caladwen continued, ignoring the young voices behind her as she lifted the girl into her arms.

Her words took about a second to register and then the half-dwarf child was fighting against her grip, outstretching her hands towards the nephews of Thorin. "No!" she cried, the pitch of her voice rising slowly but quite steadily that it caused five heads to whip towards her. "I wanna stay with Kili and Fili! And Ori and Nori and Dori!"

Kili, his brown eyes wide, stumbled towards her, his fingers outstretched towards his friend. "Ray!" he called out to her. "Don't go!"

But Caladwen had already mounted her steed in one swift movement, making it difficult for him to reach her, if not all together impossible, with Fili half a step behind his younger brother.

"Don't make me leave!" Raina sobbed, pushing against her mother's shoulder as Nori and Ori realized what was happening and rushed on short legs towards the horse Raina was situated on top of, but it was all for naught, with Caladwen was speeding away, her daughter wailing for her brothers and her dearest friends, but there was no going back.

Raina still struggled even when the image of Ered Luin passed beyond her vision, and Caladwen knew that if she were to stop for an even brief moment of rest, Raina would be rushing on stubby legs back in the direction of the mountain (though, she would not be getting very far with the great distance there was between them and the mountain, even when one took into account her rather unimpressive speed for a child her age and size).

And when Raina's limbs could no longer move, and her eyes were red, and her throat sore from the yells she had directed both towards her mother and towards all she had left behind, Raina reluctantly closed her eyes and allowed sleep to wash over her.

But for a very long time Raina would not fall asleep without seeing the sadness and the fear that dwelled within the eyes of each of the ones she held most dear, and it would be many days and nights before she saw them once more.

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><p>Raina did not speak for an entire month after she arrived in Imladris. She shied away from her mother's touch and she ignored her words, for Dwarrow folk were known for their incredibly long memory, and Raina had at least half that.<p>

She _hated_ the Elves.

She _hated_ Imladris.

Or, at least, that was the lie she tried to convince herself of day after day, through an entire silent month.

But she was miserable, very miserable. She hadn't fit in at Ered Luin, but she had family there, brothers that loved her and friends she could play with, and then her mother had to drag her away to thrust her into an environment she wasn't suited for, surrounded by strangers who knew more about her than she ever wanted to know about them who couldn't have made it plainer to her that she was a bastard of two races that could find no place in the world.

Her mother had forced her into a pale dress of light quality that both did not suit her and made her eyes painfully bright, and the simple gold circlet on her forehead weighed her down, but Raina didn't look any less like a Dwarf than she had when she was living in Ered Luin.

Raina would've ripped the circlet from her head if her mother hadn't braided it into her hair. Raina pressed fists into her eyes, trying not to voice her aggravation (after a month of silence this was becoming a common practice) before removing them and stalking into the first room she could find in an effort to evade her mother.

Coincidentally, the room she happened to duck inside was one that contained books as far as the eye could see, and Raina's eyes could see far.

Unwillingly, a light had entered Raina's eyes as she moved forward to trace a few fingers lightly over a few spines of several books. The bindings for these books was much lighter than the ones that Raina had seen in Ered Luin which were built to last the ages and weather the many elements –much like their architecture, Raina would later realize.

She could make out the tongue of Westron over a few texts that lay about on a nearby desk, but she could also see the smooth lettering of Sindarin that her mother had given her to read more than once before. Elvish wasn't as simple as it seemed, and her mother's disappointment at how long it was taking her to better understand the language Caladwen would have preferred to speak over Westron only worsened how Raina felt.

She got Sindarin eventually, of course, but it took more effort than she was willing to admit, certainly more effort than Khuzdul, which had been remarkably simple to learn and even easier to speak.

Raina tugged a flimsy book loose from the shelf, thumbing through it in a pointless manner, glancing over the dark ink of the words and the light etchings of trees and wildlife before setting it down once more to gaze out into Imladris with an expression of restrained wonder.

She truly wished she could hate Imladris, that she could hate her mother, for that hatred, she knew, would soon pass and wash away like pebbles in a stream. For there was beauty here and things that grew, unhindered by rock or stone, rather unlike how things had been back at Ered Luin.

Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to live here after all.

**AN: Let me know what you think! I know a few of you were a little miffed when I deleted this fic the first time around, and I'm sorry about that, but I'm hoping to stick with it this time around.**

**Other than this fic, I have one other Hobbit fic in the works, and that is a BardxOC, in which his wife is actually an elf, and is still alive when Thorin's Company passes through Laketown, thus changing the dynamics a bit…I'm not really sure if that fic will come into fruition, but ah well… (not a lot of divergence planned for this fic, but, again, we'll see how things turn out)**

**As for other fics…Serpent Tongue (the title for the Slytherin!Hope fic) is on the backburner, mostly because I need to work out a few things about her background, and the fic will be much shorter in chapter length than Looking Beyond ever came to, with maybe two or three chapters per school year (which means they'll be extra long, so I hope you're into that!) **

**Seen Through Hazel Eyes will be the last fic I'm currently thinking of working on, being an AU in which James and Lily survive the attack on Godric's Hollow and how Hope's life is affected by their presence.**

**I've got a good feeling about all of them, to be honest, and I hope you're all looking forward to the New Year! Hopefully this version will be better! **

**REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**


	2. Warrior-Scholar of Imladris

**Disclaimer: The Hobbit belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien**

**A Different Kind of Gold: Chapter Two: Warrior-Scholar of Imladris**

**AN: I'm so glad that the positive response to this fic have remained, even after I removed it from the site. I hope that I will continue to impress you all. You will undoubtedly notice some similarities between Raina and Serenity from Of the Spirit, because at some point they both travel their respective worlds.**

**Concerning Raina's name: the way I see it, children are given their father's name along with their own, adding an 'ion' or an 'iel' based on whether or not the child is male or female. Raina can be known as Raina Ibûndottir by Dwarves, Raina Ibûniel by the Elves, or Raina Greenwood for the wood her first bow is carved from.**

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><p>The first time Raina fell over the waterfall was a complete accident, but when she survived the fall –being a strong swimmer, as it ended in a deep pool– she was all for doing it a second time. This is not necessarily a good thing, especially to Caladwen.<p>

Caladwen who was trying to keep her as far away from weapons as if was possible to be for a Dwelf, but Raina had finally figured out where the armory was located, and her plans were set in motion.

Raina crept quietly and carefully through Imladris, the morning's sunlight was basking the Last Homely House in a soft orange, and for a moment, Raina actually wished that she could paint to capture the image, but sadly that was not one of her talents.

Raina stepped silently through the door, making note of the Elven guards that she had just narrowly escaped from being seen by. There were a lot more weapons than she was anticipating, though this might have had something to do with the fact that many elves she saw were more armed with a bow and arrow than anything else. But within there were spears and blades of all sorts as well as bows, arrows, armor and shields.

It was irritating how tall the elves were compared to her, though she was only twelve now, so nearly everything appeared to be suited for much larger hands than the ones she currently possessed (however, they were not as large Dwarf hands). With luck, however, Raina managed to find a bow and a few arrows that suited a child of her size.

Raina looped the bow over her shoulders before tying the grey-fletched arrows together and binding them to the old quiver at her side that her mother had brought her from their home in Ered Luin, and then she raced out of the door before anyone could grab her to stop her.

There were more Elves around today than she was used to, and a number of men whom Raina knew to be the Dúnedain of the North. This might have had to have done with the return of Lord Elrond's twin sons, Elladan and Elrohir, but Raina knew not of this. She had not met the Lord Peredhel of Imladris, nor his three children (though she did know them to be both very old in spirit but not in face and very beautiful).

Raina ducked around willowy legs in her haste, moving as swiftly as she could towards the smaller waterfall and then flinging herself into it in a rather graceless manner that told of the parentage she bore.

"_I was not aware any of our kin had children within the last century_," a voice mused in Sindarin after she had gone, grey eyes staring after the blonde-haired half-breed. The voice belonged to one of Lord Elrond's sons, Elladan, the elder of the two.

"_The child is Raina Ibûniel,"_ his father responded in the same tongue, _"daughter to Caladwen. She could be viewed as a Half-Elven by some."_

"_By some?"_ a second voice inquired. _"Not all? Is she not half-Man?"_ Elrohir, Elladan's brother appeared by his twin's side, interested in the subject of the conversation. He was quite familiar with Caladwen, though she was several centuries younger than he and with a fondness towards exploration.

"_She is half-Dwarf,"_ Lord Elrond replied.

Both brothers' eyebrows arched to their brows and they shared an expression of surprise. The most common pairings of interspecies unions were that of Elves and Men, a line from which their own father was born of through Beren and Lúthien Tinúviel. A union of a Dwarf and an Elf was almost unheard of.

"_Then she is a rare creature indeed,"_ Elladan said, "_is she anything like Idhrenniel_?"

Idhrenniel was the only other Half-Dwarf, Half-Elf known to be in existence. She shared more with her father than her mother, her Elf-blood shining in her veins as it did in Raina. Idhrenniel had thick and dark hair that was now spun with silver and eyes like sapphires. She had the short stature of a Dwarf, though, and dwelt in the forest of Lórien, living peacefully with its kindred rulers, Galadriel and Celeborn.

Elladan and Elrohir had met the Dwelf, for lack of a better word to describe her, only once before, but they could recall the charm that she spun into her words and the steadiness that kept her bow straight. She may have had silver strewn through her hair, but her beauty had not yet diminished. They did not know for how much longer she would continue to live, she was, after all, the first of her kind, but they did know it would be a few centuries more at least.

"_I fear she may be more so_," Lord Elrond had to concede, _"removing a bow and a number of arrows from the armory unseen as well as diving down a waterfall…she is quite a reckless child."_

Elladan and Elrohir blinked owlishly at their father for a moment as if trying to ascertain if that had indeed been what had happened –but they had seen a flash of colored feathers fletched to arrows as the child had run through the crowd– before laughter erupted from their lips, belling out and echoing loudly around them.

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><p>Raina surfaced quickly, a spout of water coming from her mouth as she emptied it of the water that had entered into her mouth on the way down. Once the water was gone from her mouth, she swam diligently towards the point where the pool of water met the bank and she pulled herself upright, walking out and onto land, her bare feet sinking into the water-logged earth before they met grass and she flopped down.<p>

The quiver inside which her arrows were tied swung wildly at her hip and Raina pulled the beautifully crafted bow from where it had rested over her shoulders; deep down she felt a bit bad for stealing it, but then she pushed it aside, reminding herself of just how much her mother tried to keep her away from weapons that she was forced to steal them in order to learn their uses in battle.

"If you could pick a weapon to take into battle, my silver-eyed one, what would you pick?" her father had once asked her.

Raina had frowned intently, wanting to appear as though she was thinking as hard as she could.

"A bow," she decided without much deliberation. Swords and knives were too heavy for her as she currently was and she was likely to do more damage to herself than anyone else.

"And why a bow, Raina?" Ibûn hummed, to which she explained her reasoning.

He nodded approvingly. "But how, little star, are you going to pull the drawstring back?"

Raina had gazed at him, a bit flummoxed. "What d'you mean?" she asked in confusion. "Shouldn't I be able to?"

"Ah, you will, you will," Ibûn promised, "but first you must build up the strength of your arm, for without it you will be too weak to do so."

Ibûn had been in the process of teaching her when he had been killed, so Raina continued on without him. She could now draw the bowstring back, and she did so with great glee. Of course, actually having some skill with the bow was an entirely different matter.

Raina's pointed ears twitched at the sound of someone approaching and she dived behind the nearest tree she could find, leaving her newly acquired bow on the scattered arrows.

"_You need not fear me, Raina Ibûniel_," a musical voice proclaimed into the early morning. _"I mean you no harm."_

Raina peeked her head around the edge if the tree's trunk to rest her eyes upon the Elf that had spoken.

She would not be lying if she said the she-Elf was the most beautiful of the race that she had seen since her arrival in Imladris, even more than her own mother. This female had locks that were so much darker than Raina's that they might have been everlasting night without stars, her eyes were so grey that they could have been storm clouds, and her fair cheeks shimmered with health.

The she-Elf smiled kindly at Raina from what she could barely see of her and crimson bloomed on Raina's cheeks as she ducked behind the tree once more.

"Y-You know my name?" Raina forced the words out, opting for Westron rather than Sindarin, for though she was progressing nicely with the language, she still stumbled a bit, and it would be best for her not to ruin the language in front of one who had undoubtedly been speaking it for centuries.

The thought of the age difference between her and anyone in Imladris made her feel quite small. Everyone she had come into contact with as of late was several centuries her senior and thus Raina was treated more as though she was a young child.

"All know your name, Raina Ibûniel," the Elf said with a smile that was soft and kind as she responded in a similar tongue, "and all are familiar with your face."

"Oh," Raina said, her eyes becoming downcast where she hid behind her tree and the musical voice called to her once more.

"Come, so that I might look upon you."

Raina murmured an ancient Dwarvish curse under her breath that she had heard her father utter on more than one occasion –often about his sons who were very spirited, Nori being the one that often got into trouble– but then she took a deep breath and stepped into the light.

Arwen Undómiel was renowned for her beauty and her likeness to Lúthien Tinúviel, and though she had seen glimpses of Raina Ibûniel, she only came to see just how unique her appearance was now, so very different than the Elves of Imladris and the child's fair-haired mother, Caladwen.

"Hello," Raina said quietly, digging a bare heel into the grass as she kept her eyes firmly away from Arwen's as though afraid of judgment in her eyes.

The child jumped wildly when Arwen knelt before her, tilting her chin upwards. She was amused when the chin jutted outwards slightly in defiance.

Arwen's eyes were a solid slate grey, but this child's outshone hers in that they appeared to be made of liquid starlight.

"You have beautiful eyes, Raina," Arwen said kindly and a pale flush spread across her cheeks.

"Thank you," Raina nearly mumbled, before admitting, "You are very beautiful."

"Thank you," Arwen said simply, repeating Raina's words. Her eyes twinkled in the light of the morning sun. "Do you know who I am, Raina?" she inquired of the half-Elf.

"No," Raina said honestly, her brow furrowing and displaying her confusion. Though, this should have come as no surprise, as she hardly knew anyone's name. She knew her mother, and the Elf-lord Lindir who had been kind to her since he had first laid eyes on her, he was the one who assisted her with her Sindarin when she was having a bit of difficulty with it. Raina tended to avoid most Elves, and she was so small that many didn't take notice of her.

"I am Arwen Undómiel," the Elf said and Raina temporarily froze.

Like all who lived in Imladris, Raina knew the names of Lord Elrond Peredhel's children. The first were his twin sons Elladan and Elrohir whom were known to ride with the Dúnedain, and his only daughter was known as Arwen Undómiel, Arwen of the Evenstar, as she was the Evenstar of her people.

"U-Uh, my apologies!" Raina managed to stutter out with difficulty, embarrassment coloring her cheeks a darker pink than they had previously born. The Elf before her certainly had the bearing of a lady, something Raina doubted she would ever be capable of.

Arwen laughed and it sounded as melodious as her voice was musical. "Fear not, Ibûniel, I did not expect you to recognize one you had never laid eyes on."

Raina chuckled in a nervous manner, reaching up to her neck where a thick iron ring rested on a chain, made for a hand much larger than hers. It had belonged to her father, and he had given it to her mother before the Battle of Azanulbizar which claimed his life. Caladwen could not bear to keep it so she had entrusted it to her daughter.

Arwen smiled again as her eyes drifted downwards to the bow and the arrows that lay scattered on the earth.

"Did you wish to learn the art of the bow?" she inquired of the child and Raina floundered for an answer.

"Yes," she admitted finally, albeit a bit reluctantly. "It's not very…Dwarf-like, and Mother wouldn't approve of me learning it…but I like learning."

"Oh?" Arwen arched a curious eyebrow. "What kind of learning?"

"I-I like weapons," Raina explained, "how they feel, how they're shaped, the differences between those made by Men, Elves, and Dwarves…I like how the languages between the races are unique, I like how each thrives in a different kind of land, even the Hobbits are very particular with their sprawling fields…"

A light glowed in Arwen's eyes. "It seems that you wish to be a scholar," she mused, "one who has knowledge of many matters."

"That doesn't sound very exciting," Raina said, her tone a bit mutinous.

"Have you not ever heard of the Warrior-Scribes that many of the Dwarrow opt to become?" Arwen asked her.

Raina screwed her face up, her eyes just silver slivers as she thought hard. "I might have heard the term a few times," she conceded. "My brother Ori was considering being one…I think…"

Raina remembered the brother that was closest to her age, Ori, who she had hardly seen without a book when she and her mother lived in Ered Luin. It had been incredibly difficult to drag him away to play with her and Fili and Kili.

"I can't really imagine him using a weapon, though," Raina said, "he's too…kind, the most I could imagine him using would be a slingshot."

Arwen's lips twitched slightly. "Is that so?"

"Unfortunately," Raina muttered, "he's not really violent, which is ironic considering his name means 'violent'."

"Indeed," Arwen mused, bending down even as Raina made to intercept her, procuring the slim bow from the grass, her thin fingers roving over its surface. It had been a long time since she had held a bow in her hands. She now elected to the use of her father's old blade, Hadhafang, but her first skill in weaponry was that of archery. "Would you like to learn?"

Raina's eyes widened and she couldn't stop a smile from blooming on her lips. Arwen wasn't surprised to discover that her whole face brightened in its presence. Suddenly Raina's resemblance to Caladwen was obvious.

"You would teach me?" she asked, positively gleeful.

The bow that Arwen held in her hands was smaller than the armory typically held, in fact, the bows that were kept there were all the same size. Arwen's eyes narrowed suspiciously and briefly before she smiled. Ah, her father had keen eyes and had no doubt seen that Raina had been desiring to learn the art of the bow and made it easier for her by leaving a bow crafted for a child of her size in the armory.

"I would be most honored to do so," Arwen replied and Raina, if it were possible, beamed even more brightly than before.

And so, Raina took up the bow that Arwen held out to her with an expression of awe that was so rarely seen. Arwen surveyed the child calmly, memorizing the light and eager happiness that her pale eyes held before she held up one of the arrows.

"Come," Arwen said, drawing the silver eyes to her, "let me show you how to wield a bow and arrow with precision."

And Raina was only too happy to learn, though, it must be said, her first fired arrows completely missed her target, and it was only by midday that she managed to fire an arrow that didn't lodge in the grass a bit away, but even that arrow still missed the trunk entirely, the arrow embedding in one of the branches.

Still, it was a promising start, or so Arwen assured her.

* * *

><p>Raina gained an interest in sketching soon after she decided to become a Warrior-Scholar (Warrior-Scribe only dealt in the recording of current events and Raina wanted to deal in a wide assortment of topic, past and present, whether they mattered or not), and she found she was much better at sketching than she was at her bow.<p>

This was a rather depressing thought, in Raina's opinion.

"_You need not worry so much,"_ Lindir commented one day as he assisted her with her Sindarin. _"Being part Elf does not guarantee that you will immediately have skill with the bow. Even those who are skilled now did not start out that way."_

Raina struggled to keep up with his Sindarin words, but she managed it in the end, though she replied in Westron, the tongue that was far easier to follow. "Lindir…do you ever think that the reason I'm not as good at this is because I'm only half-Elf?"

Lindir's eyes were a bright blue and wise beyond that which his youth portrayed, a contrast with Raina's pale and young ones, which he met steadily.

"I do not believe that," he replied as Raina sketched out her father's ring against the parchment for practice, shading in the Khuzdul runes with a careful hand. "If you work hard, you will be rewarded."

A smile touched her lips briefly and she glanced at her feet where the bow and quiver of arrows lay, the tips already dulled from the many times that Raina had pierced them into bark.

"Do you think I'll ever be able to return to Ered Luin?" Raina inquired instead, pausing her charcoal stick to accept the cup of water that Lindir held out to her.

"I believe you will, one day…but not if you don't eat your greens." He gave her a rather significant look and laughter erupted from Raina's lips before she could stifle it.

"There is nothing wrong with greens, only cabbage!" Raina countered through her laughter and Lindir smiled.

"If that is the tale you wish to tell," Lindir conceded the matter and both fell silent at the sound of approaching footfalls and Lindir stood so that he might bow when the Lord Elrond came into view.

_"My Lord Elrond,_" he said, the Sindarin rolling off his tongue as his Westron changed smoothly to it.

Lord Elrond inclined his head slightly to the Elf-lord before him. "Lindir," he said simply, his ancient voice as beautiful as his daughter's.

Arwen had clearly inherited her coloring from him, as the Lord of Imladris too had dark locks and grey eyes that were the closest to Raina's silver eyes that she had seen yet, though they were still dark enough to compare with Arwen's.

He was as ageless as Arwen was and Raina had no doubt he would continue to look such ever when her hair silvered and her skin became cobwebbed with wrinkles.

Once Raina realized she was gaping at him, she shut her mouth quickly, heat blossoming on her cheeks. The only indication that he had taken note of this action was the barest twitch of the corner of his lips.

"Raina, daughter of Ibûn and Caladwen," he said, his eyes meeting hers, and Raina swallowed thickly.

"Y-Yes?" she stuttered out.

"Walk with me," he invited, though it sounded very much like it was barely an invitation, walking the fine line between invitation and command. "There is much I must discuss with you."

Raina glanced towards Lindir who nodded before she stood, brushing her trousers as she stood, leaving behind her cup of water, parchment and charcoal stick, and her bow and arrows to follow after him.

They walked in silence for a spell and Raina felt it best that she not break it so she waited a bit impatiently for him to speak.

"The matter I wish to speak with you concerns your mother," Lord Elrond said finally coming to a stop so suddenly that Raina nearly ran into him.

"My-my mother?" Raina said blankly, gazing up at him with uncomprehending eyes. She had forgiven her mother for taking her from Ered Luin months ago and she had enjoyed the renewed relationship with her mother that had been put on hold when the rift between them grew upon Caladwen's forcing her from the place of her birth. "Is there something wrong with her?"

"There is," Lord Elrond said in a solemn manner that had Raina's heart racing uncomfortably in her chest. It was true that her mother had not been herself as of late. She was more withdrawn and tired than usual. "Caladwen is…wasting away."

_"What?"_ Raina squeaked.

"Her relationship with your father Ibûn, not matter how controversial, was true, and his death has wounded her greatly," Lord Elrond tried to explain.

"B-But my father died four years ago!" Raina insisted, her eyes wide and still so full of innocence. "How can that be?"

The gentle weight of his hand on her shoulder made her look up and he knelt to her level, an action that surprised her.

"It may take centuries before Caladwen's spirit diminishes entirely, and she would not wish upon you to see her in such a way…she wishes to sail instead to Valinor from the Grey Havens—"

_"No!"_ Raina gasped, tears springing her eyes as she stepped away from him before turning and running, searching for her mother.

**AN: So…a better explanation for Caladwen's supposed 'death' which was too human in my original fic…I also tried to look up when exactly Arwen goes to live with Galadriel and Celeborn in Lórien, only that she returns to Imladris 2951, and Aragorn falls in love with her upon first sight. She is said to have spent most of her life between Imladris and Lórien, so I'm just going to have her be leaving Imladris pretty soon, so she will reside there for about 78 years, by my calculations.**

**Kili, Fili, Ori, Nori, and Dori won't be making any appearances until Raina's a bit older, unfortunately, because why on earth would Dwarves want to be anywhere near Elves? I have several things I might implement, but only time will tell if they come to light…until next time…**

**Sting of the Blade probably won't be updated as soon as I had hoped…but I hope to update Looking Beyond soon, I have the next chapter mentally planned out in my head, but getting it onto paper is another matter entirely. Any opinions on the matter?**

**Anyways…PLEASE REVIEW!**


	3. Path to Mithlond

**Disclaimer: J.R.R. Tolkien owns the Hobbit**

**A Different Kind of Gold: Chapter Three: Path to Mithlond**

**AN: I love that some of you are glad that Raina is forming relationships with the Elves…it'll be quite interesting when she meets up with her brothers and the sons of Durin.**

**I'm particularly looking forward to Raina finding Telchar (not to be confused with Telsnar, the crimson dragon from Strongest of the Warlocks) as well as delving into her many relationships.**

**To some that may not know: Mithlond is the translation of Grey Havens in Sindarin. The Grey Havens is the common name, which is why Elrond called it such in the last chapter, for Raina's benefit.**

* * *

><p>"How is she?" Caladwen asked, leaning against the side of a balcony that overlooked Imladris, her eyes fixed into the distance where she could see her daughter with ease.<p>

"Afraid and determined," came the reply. Lord Elrond stepped out into the open to join her. His grey eyes swept over her. "She is not pleased with you," he told her.

A slight chuckle escaped Caladwen at the words of Gil-galad's herald. She did not doubt them in the slightest. Raina had inherited her father's Dwarrow heart, loving so deeply and wounded so greatly by the loss of others.

Her anger towards her mother would be great, Caladwen could see that very clearly, as soon as she could find her, though that might take a short while.

"I do not blame her," Caladwen said softly, her eyes still fastened in the distance where she could wee her daughter's head of molten gold as she ran through Imladris in search of her.

It seemed like Raina had just started trusting her again when Caladwen had gone and broken her heart yet again. But this time, she would be leaving Raina alone without any guidance, it would be very different when she took her from Ered Luin.

She would be alone.

"I fear for her," Caladwen admitted to Lord Elrond, turning away from the Elven dwelling to fix the Lord of Imladris with a stare that he could not break. "She is so alone in this word, a unique oddity, and that shall surely weigh against her."

"She is not as alone as you might think," Lord Elrond promised. "Idhrenniel still lives."

"Idhrenniel lives in Lórien," Caladwen said with a sigh, "and I would not allow my daughter to journey to the forest with so little training."

Though, she had to concede that she only had herself to blame for that. She had tried to keep Raina so far away from weapons that it had resulted only in her wanting to learn to use them more.

Lord Elrond said nothing to this pronouncement. Truthfully, he was certain that once Idhrenniel heard of a fellow Dwelf that resided in one of the Elven dwellings that she would come running to meet her kin. Idhrenniel had been the only one of her kind of so long that he was certain she would be more than pleased to have words with Raina Ibûniel.

"Your daughter will not be alone," Lord Elrond promised, inclining his head slightly to the equally fair Elf. "She will be well looked after, I promise you."

"My Lord is ever gracious," Caladwen said, bowing her head deeply. "I know I may be asking too much, but…would you care for her?"

It wasn't all together strange for Lord Elrond to foster children that were not completely Elf, as he had done so for the descendents of Elros who were of the line of Isildur for more than an age.

Caladwen already knew that though small and young, Raina had garnered the attention of the lord, for how else could Raina have stolen a bow and a quiver of arrows that were the proper size for someone of her stature and arm length? Caladwen thought it was because he had missed having a child to care for and she wasn't certain she was altogether wrong in her assumption.

"I will, if that is your wish," Lord Elrond said. "But you must understand, I cannot keep her here as you have hoped to."

"I understand," Caladwen said sadly, "she is a child of wood and stone, I should not have expected her to choose one in favor of the other." Her eyes softened briefly. "I don't think she ever stops thinking about her brothers," she admitted, "or the two sons of Durin that she befriended…her anger towards me for taking her away from them blinded her for so long, and only know has she finally begun to see." Blue eyes met grey. "She will become a great Warrior-Scholar, of that I am certain," she told him, "so I beg of you, Lord Elrond, please do not follow my example."

And then she swept away as gracefully as she had come, leaving Lord Elrond to his thoughts.

Whatever Caladwen claimed, she had raised her daughter as best as she knew how in the absence created by her lover's death. That Lord Elrond could not fault her for. She had wanted to protect the only thing in the world that she viewed as valued greater than even the Silmarils that were considered most beautiful.

And far more rarer than the Arkenstone that lay under gold in Erebor.

She was a wild-hearted child, rather unlike Arwen, in that aspect, who was bound to a certain sense of how one of her lineage should act. She reminded him a bit more of his sons, Elladan and Elrohir, who were always running off into the woods to slay 'orcs' as children.

But Raina was more studious than his sons, and her interest in history, among many things, was great. Her mother had been right when she had said that her daughter would become a great Warrior-Scholar one day.

But Caladwen was wrong if she thought that the loss of her mother wouldn't hit Raina hard, because he could already see that it would.

He had seen the tears that sprouted from her eyes when she had learned of her mother's condition and where she intended to go.

The fear in her eyes was one that he wouldn't be forgetting any time soon, for it was a fear he had not seen for some time.

* * *

><p>"How can you do this?" Raina demanded once she finally found her mother after nearly an hour of searching for the Elf in question.<p>

Caladwen was sitting rather calmly in a winding chair that seemed quite flimsy in Raina's opinion, giving off the feeling that it might snap if one was to add a bit more weight to it.

"You can't just leave!" she burst out, her anger clouding her sadness. "You're leaving me just like Papa did!"

The last image she had of her father swam before her eyes, his back garbed in armor.

Caladwen's eyes softened as she looked upon her only child. "Raina," she said softly, "come here."

Raina complied, though she still looked greatly angered, looking a great deal like Ibûn in doing so and that only made it more difficult.

"Raina," she said, her voice tired, "I am dying."

Raina flinched and refused to meet her eyes as her mother took her hands within her own.

"I want what's best for you," Caladwen said imploringly, "can you not see that?"

"But I want you to stay," Raina insisted, her silver eyes blazing as they met her mother's soft orbs. "Mother, _please_! Please don't go! Please don't leave me alone!"

The tears which had so desperately clung to her eyelashes had finally fallen and at long last the wall inside Raina which had already begun to crack when she had been told by Lord Elrond an hour previously of her mother's decision to journey into the West at last broke and Raina dissolved into tears in a manner that she later felt unbefitting of her age.

"Please don't go," Raina sobbed into her shoulder as she flung her arms around her mother. "_Stay_."

"I _want_ to stay for you," Caladwen murmured into her ear as she drew her child to her, rubbing soothing circles into her back as she did so, rocking her daughter back and forth as she had years ago whenever Raina had awoken from a terrible nightmare. "I _truly_ do, more than anything, my heart, but I can remain here no longer and I do not want you to see what would become of me if I stayed."

Raina leaned back, sniffling as she rubbed at the tears still staining her cheeks, causing her fair skin to turn a blotchy raw red from frequent rubbing.

Caladwen cupped her face in her hands and smiled at her. Raina's golden hair was wild and in a mess, no doubt from her running through Imladris in search of Caladwen, her thick hair falling from its braid. Her silver eyes were darker than she ever remembered them being, though this might have had something to do with the anger and sadness that her daughter was currently feeling.

"Do you know what the rarest and most beautiful gem in the earth is?" Caladwen asked her, her lips twisting as she remembered that Ibûn was the one who had asked her this question and in turn drilled the response to it as well.

"The Arkenstone," Raina intoned, remembering the question all-too-well.

"One day you will be someone's Arkenstone," Caladwen told her, fixing her daughter's braid in a flurry of fingers, tightening the leather strap at the end of her plait. "They will cherish you above everything else in the world."

Raina drew a face at that. She was still at the age where romantic love was one of the most undesirable things one could experience in a lifetime.

"Were you Papa's Arkenstone?" Raina asked her.

Caladwen's smile became a bit morose. "I don't know," she said honestly, "but I do know that he was mine."

Raina frowned slightly at these words. Dori, Nori, and Ori had all different mothers, but this knowledge had never seemed to bother them, so it didn't bother her. Of course, Dori was always getting on at Nori and mothering Ori and Raina so much that one would think they were all full siblings like Thorin and Dis were (and that was obvious in the color of their features, the way they walked, and the way they talked).

She wasn't sure that her father had ever had a One, as they said in the Dwarrow culture, she was certain beyond a doubt that her father loved Dori, Nori, Ori and her mothers in different ways, but that was still love. The Ri Brothers had all lost their mothers to childbirth which wasn't as uncommon as it seemed when one took into account the conditions they had been in before childbirth, so that her mother had lived birthing her was practically an oddity. This, despite what some thought, did not mean that her father loved her mother more.

"I've asked Lord Elrond to care for you," Caladwen said, bringing her daughter's attention back to the present once more. "You will be a good girl for him, won't you?"

Raina scowled sullenly at the ground, as though it could give her a proper response, which it could not.

"Raina," Caladwen sighed, lifting her chin with a finger so that her eyes were forced to look upon her mother once more. "Please? A last request from your mother?"

"_Fine_," Raina said grouchily, still not pleased about the thing as a whole. She supposed Lord Elrond wasn't too bad considering who she could have had to take care of her, though the Elves were kind and mild-mannered, so this came as no surprise. She'd hardly met Lord Elrond, though, and hadn't met his sons, but his daughter was kind enough, so that had to count for something.

"Good," Caladwen sighed again as if a great tension had been eased from her shoulders. "And when Lord Elrond permits you…you will be allowed to return to Ered Luin."

Raina's head which had been shifting downwards once more snapped back up at her words and she stared at her mother in shock as though she could not believe what she was hearing.

She wouldn't have believed her mother wanted her to ever to return to Ered Luin.

But she did not speak her thoughts as Caladwen feathered a kiss to her forehead.

* * *

><p>"You will not be journeying to Mithlond with your mother alone," Arwen informed her two days later when Raina was venting her feelings by firing arrow after arrow at her target, though only some of them collided with the bark.<p>

Her words caused Raina to miss her target completely as she whirled around to stare at Arwen, incredulity and annoyance warring on her face.

"Why not?" she demanded sounding irritatingly like a petulant child that had not gotten their way.

Arwen arched an elegant eyebrow at the Dwelf. "Though the path to Mithlond is the safest road we know of, the chances of orcs attacking you is high considering their leanings towards violence…So Father has conceded to allow me to accompany you."

Raina blinked and stared at the Elf standing before her. Honestly speaking, Raina had never actually seen the Elven lady in combat. Her skill with the bow was impressive, especially when one compared it to Raina's abilities with the weapon, which were lower than mediocre at best, and at worst…it was best not to think about that.

However, if her father was willing enough to allow his only daughter to accompany them to the port that lay at the Gulf of Lhûn, then she must have had great skill.

"Oh," Raina said a bit numbly, glancing down at the bow she was holding in her hands, a bit disappointed that she wouldn't be the only one that would be accompanying her mother on her final journey.

She felt it was intensely personal for her mother to ask her to come with her to bid her farewell at the shoreline of the River Lhûn. Of course, she hadn't wanted to when her mother had first asked her, though this might've had something more to do with the fact that it made it seem more real.

Raina didn't want to think of her mother sailing away into Valinor without her, but it wasn't as though Raina actually wanted to go with her. Her place was in Arda, not Aman, where Valinor resided. Raina had a long life ahead of her before she would even consider taking a boat from the Grey Havens.

"Well, I suppose that's not too terribly bad," Raina grumbled to herself, making Arwen utter a musical laugh. This in turn caused Raina's cheeks to flood with heat, having forgotten just how attune Elf hearing was. Her own hearing was far greater than that of a Dwarf or Man, much like her sight, but she also wasn't very good at holding her tongue, something that earned her reproach from her mother.

"Not terribly bad?" Arwen repeated with a smile.

"We could have gotten someone we didn't know," Raina said reasonably with a shrug as she moved to collect her fallen arrow that lay far behind the tree she had been aiming at (yet another reason to practice more, because it was starting to get embarrassing, quite frankly). "Who knows what they would have been like?"

Arwen said nothing to these words as Raina returned to her side once more to ready her bow, only this time she was humming a soft song.

"_The King beneath the mountains,_

_The King of carven stone,_

_The lord of silver fountains_

_Shall come into his own!_

_His crown shall be upholden,_

_His harp shall be restrung,_

_His halls shall echo golden_

_To songs of yore re-sung._

_The woods shall wave on mountains_

_And grass beneath the sun;_

_His wealth shall flow in fountains_

_And the rivers golden run._

_The streams shall run in gladness,_

_The lakes shall shine and burn,_

_And sorrow fail and sadness_

_At the Mountain-king's return!"_

Arwen had been so intently focused on the words that she had sung under her breath that she missed Raina firing off two shots, lodging a bit off center from where she had been aiming, but it was at least very much better than it had been before.

She wasn't entirely sure that Raina understood the meaning behind the words of the song, it seemed more likely that she was simply repeating what she had heard before.

"Did your father sing that to you?" Arwen enquired of her after a moment, causing Raina to relax her stance so that she wouldn't fire off another badly-aimed arrow due to Arwen's words.

"Yes, whenever I had a nightmare," Raina admitted, embarrassment blossoming on her face as she said this. "He had a lovely voice for singing…I mean, for a Dwarf!" Raina coughed uncomfortably and Arwen hid her chuckles.

"Elves are not the only ones with an affinity towards singing," she told her, trying to vainly keep the laughter out of her voice, but it didn't work that well.

Raina shrugged, a somber expression overtaking her features. "Mother doesn't like it when I sing it," she added, her grip on her bow tightening. "I think it reminds her of Papa too much."

Arwen's expression softened. "My father does not speak of my mother," she told the child and the Dwelf looked up. "She was taken by orcs and greatly wounded when my brothers brought her back to Imladris. My father healed her, but…she did not wish to remain in Arda, so she chose to go on to Valinor, as your mother will soon do."

Raina's eyes clouded over and Arwen could see that she was thinking intently about something, but she did not voice her thoughts, as Arwen had not expected her to. Raina had to come to her own decisions at some point, so why not now?

"Raina!" a voice called and Raina froze at the sound of Lindir's annoyed voice.

"Oops," Raina muttered, "I forgot I've got lessons with Lindir."

"Another time," Arwen promised to the girl who would one day soon fall into the care of her father. "Lindir does not take well to those who are late to their lessons."

Raina ran off with her bow and arrows, laughter issuing from her mouth, but it would be a stretch of time before that laughter was heard again.

* * *

><p>The closer they became to Mithlond, the more Raina's heart strained against her chest. And the more she wished she hadn't been so angry with her mother after they had left Ered Luin. Raina frowned to herself, her hands tightening over the reins of her pony (trying not to be irritated that because she was so short currently –though that wasn't likely to change anytime soon– that she had to ride a pony at a much shorter height than Arwen and her mother's horses which set them above her).<p>

Raina sighed slowly and carefully so as not to attract the attention of her mother or Arwen. And then she looked up to scowl at the approaching Gulf of Lhûn; it seemed as though it was nearly upon them and that in doing so, it was trying to spite her.

In retrospect, this was a rather foolish notion, but that wouldn't dawn on her until a later date.

"We are here," Arwen intoned at what seemed like an age later (but couldn't have been, Raina reminded herself, as she doubted a Dwelf could live for so long), and at long last, Raina dismounted to gaze upon the Grey Havens.

It wasn't what she expected, that much she had to admit. She had been anticipating dark, murky waters spilling out into the sea with a feeling of gloominess being evident, but it wasn't like that at all.

The sun was setting and casting a soft arrange glow upon the water which was clear and blue, the boat that her mother would take to Valinor swaying with the gentle tides that came in and out slowly.

Raina dismounted silently after her mother and Arwen had also done so, her heart clogging her throat and stalling the speech that she wasn't sure she wanted to use to begin with.

She barely felt when her mother laced her fingers with Raina's as they walked towards the boat together as Arwen stood at a respectful distance to allow mother and daughter a moment of privacy, or as much privacy as could be achieved in the wilderness.

And then Caladwen knelt down so that she could meet Raina's eyes.

"So," Caladwen said, her voice throaty with emotions that Raina was certain reflected her own, "this is where we part, dearest daughter." Her eyes traced over Raina's features, as if committing her face to memory.

Raina's lower lip trembled and she fought not to bite it as she often reflexively did. "Y-You won't forget me?" Raina whispered, her greatest fear only being revealed at the last possible moment.

"_Never_," Caladwen swore, threading her thin fingers into Raina's thick locks as she pressed a loving kiss to her forehead before leaning back to smile wetly at her. "You, my heart, are _unforgettable_."

And with that said, Caladwen's hands raised to simple silver circlet that rested against her forehead –a contrast to the intricate one that Lord Elrond and his children wore– to lift it and free her head of its burden. Raina's own head was not yet fully grown, but she tilted it to the back as tiaras sometimes were, making do.

"One day this will fit you," she said kindly, "and one day you will understand that I only wanted the best for you."

Raina closed her eyes briefly causing the tears in her eyes to trail tracks down her cheeks before she opened them once more, tears springing from her pale orbs once more.

"I know now," she hardly dared to breathe, launching herself forward so that she could embrace her mother one last time. "And you are the greatest mother in the world."

Caladwen could not stop her own tears from falling at this pronouncement, but when she leaned back, they had been wiped clean.

"_Sweet water and light laughter till next we meet," _Raina choked out the Sindarin farewell and Caladwen allowed herself a short laugh as she climbed into the boat.

"You will be a great Warrior-Scholar when we meet again, Raina Ibûndottir," she said with so much certainty that Raina had to believe her as she watched her paddle out into the beyond.

**AN: I hope I have continued to impress you all with this fic! This chapter felt mostly like a filler chapter to me when I wrote it, and I don't particularly like it, though this may be stemming from me not really liking writing goodbyes, because frankly I'm rather bad at it. **

**Raina being cared for by Elrond wasn't planned, but I did know what kind of relationship I want Aragorn/Estel to have with Raina, so I figured she would have to be close to Elrond in order to be close to Aragorn, that's basically the only reason.**

**Raina will undoubtedly be meeting Elladan and Elrohir next chapter, so that'll be interesting to write, at the least.**

**If you're following my other fics, you'll know that my last day to update anything for awhile is tomorrow, because then my term starts up, so don't expect an update anytime soon.**

**And if you're following Looking Beyond: Pandora's Box, if you're lucky, it might be updated by tomorrow, if not…well, who really knows?**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**


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